Prestigious Pombo/Sargent Classic to be held for the first time at Ocean Speedway on Friday June 26 with the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series

By Gary Thomas

Watsonville, CA – February 10, 2015…With the season creeping closer and the excitement building, we’re pleased to announce that the annual Pombo/Sargent Classic will be held this season during the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series event at Ocean Speedway on Friday night June 26.

The Pombo/Sargent Classic honors California racing legends Al Pombo & Marshall Sargent and has been going on for nearly 30-years, originally starting at Kings Speedway in the 1980’s, before moving to the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway from 2006-’11. In 2012 the event returned to Kings Speedway where it had been held the last few years, before now finding a new home at the Ocean Speedway in 2015 and beyond.

“It’s going to be really exciting to host the Pombo/Sargent Classic at Ocean Speedway when the King of the West 410’s are here on June 26,” said Prentice Motorsports Group President John Prentice. “I’m honored that the Pombo & Sargent families have chosen Ocean Speedway to celebrate the memory of two great families that have done so much for the sport out here. Creating special events is something we’re trying to do very hard and the Pombo/Sargent Classic fits right in with that.”

Al Pombo began his career in the 1940’s and is credited with more than 500 main event victories, including multiple wins in the Gold Cup at West Capital Raceway, the same event that is now held at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico. He also won five San Jose Speedway titles, seven NASCAR super-modified championships, nine titles at Kearney Bowl and six at Clovis Speedway. Pombo was a fixture at the event until his passing a few years ago.

Early in his career Marshall Sargent won a pair of San Jose titles, which included two wins in the Johnny Key Memorial and also captured the Australian championship in 1964. A pair of crashes unfortunately cut his career short and he enjoyed retirement until his passing in 1990. His legend and memory is kept alive each year as part the Pombo/Sargent Classic and on Friday June 26 we’ll once again pay homage to a pair of legends, who helped set the foundation for the sport in our state.

The Pombo/Sargent Classic is also part of a Prentice Motorsports Group Double Down Weekend, which includes the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series event the following night at Calistoga Speedway on June 27. If a driver can sweep the KWS weekend at Ocean Speedway & Calistoga, they will go home with a $3,000 bonus.

Prentice Motorsports Group announces Double Down Bonus for 2015 season

(PETERSEN MEDIA- Aptos, CA)- With a new year comes a new program, and the Prentice Motorsports Group is excited to announce a $3000, Double Down bonus should a driver sweep a pair of PMG events on select weekends during the 2015 season.

“As we took on the Civil War Series and the King of the West Series, and added them to the Ocean Speedway stuff we had already promoted, we were very fortunate to have so many drivers spend their weekends competing tow times with us,” John Prentice, President of PMG said. “In 2015 we wanted to put some extra money up for grabs, and hope to have even more drivers spend their weekends with us.”

On 11 different occasions, PMG has put the Double Down Bonus up for grabs. Should a driver win a select race at the Ocean Speedway on Friday night, they will have an additional $3000 on the line at the following night’s King of the West or Civil War Sprint Car series event should they also win that.

Of the 11 Double Down Bonus weekends that showcase the Ocean Speedway on Friday, nine are paired with the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series, while two pair with the Civil War Sprints.

“We saw some great racing over the 2014 season, and we are looking forward to 2015,” Prentice added. “We have a great fan base and we are hoping this adds even more excitement to our programs.”

The first Double Down weekend will be April 24th at the Ocean Speedway, followed by the Civil War Series’ event at the Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, CA on the 25th. Other weekends that have the bonus attached to them are May 8th, 15th, and 29th, June 12th, and 26th, July 10th, 17th, 25th, and 31st and concluding the weekend of October 9th.

ON TAP: PMG’s 2015 season will kick off in March, and the first Double Down opportunity will come the weekend of April 24th and 25th.

PRENTICE MOTORSPORTS GROUP- The Prentice Motorsports Group promotes the Ocean Speedway, Ocean Sprints Presented by Taco Bravo, Civil War Series Presented by Flowmaster, and the King of the West Series, and in 2015 will expand by adding the Joe Hunt Magnetos Sprint Car Series.

The 2014 King of the West Sprint Car Series, Civil War Sprint Car Series presented by Flowmaster & Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo Championship Awards Banquet will take place on Saturday November 15 at the Biltmore Hotel & Suites in Santa Clara.

People are invited to come celebrate the accomplishments for drivers & teams in a fun filled night honoring many of the top competitors in California Sprint Car racing.

No host bar at 6:30pm, Dinner will be at 7pm with Awards starting at 8pm. Tickets for the night are $55 per person. RSVP is due by November 5. Contact (831) 662-9466 for tickets

Discounted rooms at the Biltmore can be obtained by calling the hotel at 800-925-9925 & letting them know you are with the PMG Group. The Biltmore Hoetl & Suites are located at 2151 Laurelwood Road Santa Clara, CA.

Shane Golobic wraps up second Ocean Sprints title as Andy Forsberg puts in a masterful drive to win the Taco Bravo finale on Friday

By Gary Thomas

Watsonville, CA – October 12, 2014…For the second consecutive year it was traveling visitor Andy Forsberg from Auburn racing to victory on championship night with the Ocean Sprints on Friday at the Ocean Speedway. Fremont’s Shane Golobic however, was the man of the hour as he locked up his second Taco Bravo title and celebrated on the front stretch in style.

After almost winning the penultimate event of the year on September 19, Forsberg came back and left no doubts during the finale on Friday, starting on the pole and putting on a clinic through lapped traffic. After a caution on lap two the 30-lapper went non-stop to its conclusion in a very fast paced contest.

“That was definitely my kind of track tonight and I couldn’t be happier to get a win here at Ocean Speedway,” said Forsberg, who claimed two Taco Bravo wins last season & also won opening night of the Trophy Cup when it was held at Ocean Speedway in 2000. “I’m really happy to get the 01 team a win and can’t thank them enough for letting me drive this car. We’ve been really good all year long. I want to thank all the fans for coming out supporting this place. It’s a great track and hope everyone comes back next year.”

Forsberg and Corralitos’ Jerry Bonnema drew the front for the final feature in 2014 and the seven-time Civil War Series champion would get the lead at the waving of the green flag. A red flag period for Fresno’s Anthony Simone was the only thing slowing the fast moving Forsberg, who drove through traffic like a magician and took the checkered flag by over two seconds for victory in the General Lee/ PT Shocks No. 01 machine. Forsberg was the 10th different winner on the season with the Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo.

One of the most entertaining battles on the track was the fight for second between Watsonville’s Justin Sanders and Shane Golobic. The duo raced closely together through heavy traffic at times until Sander’s was able to make a great move to take the spot that he wouldn’t relinquish. The runner up continued a great second half of the season for the driver of the North County Plastering/ Lancaster Locksmith No. 17 Sprinter.

“I would have liked to end the year with a victory here at my home track but we’ll take a second tonight after a great fight with Shane there,” Sanders commented. “We’ve really had this car rolling at Ocean Speedway over the second part of the season and hate to see the year end. I want to thank all our sponsors and everyone that helps out on this car.”

Golobic ended the race in third and it was good enough to give him his second Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo title. The 23-year-old joins Brent Kaeding and Tommy Tarlton as the third two-time champion at the quarter-mile since the Winged 360’s returned in 2007. It came aboard the Keith Day Trucking/ El Camino Body Shop No. 22 mount.

“We’re really excited to get this championship tonight and I can’t thank my whole team enough,” Golobic said with champagne flowing down his face. “It was really a great season overall and we definitely found some serious speed with this car. It means a lot to win the Taco Bravo title for the second time. Big thanks to all my family, friends and crew for the support that they give me. Now that we have the Taco Bravo title under our belts we look forward to completing the Civil War season on November 1 and hoping to get that one as well.”

Lemoore’s Carson Macedo earned the High Five Pizza Hard Charger Award coming from 13th to fourth in the feature. The 18-year-old also locked up a career best finish of second in the Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo points. Last year’s Ocean Sprints champion Brad Furr of Stockton had a nice rebound from the September event to round out the top-five in the main event. The top-10 was completed by Sedalia, Missouri’s Jonathan Cornell, Bonnema, Gilroy’s Kurt Nelson, Riverdale’s Landon Hurst and Hanford’s Mitchell Faccinto.

Heat race wins during the night went to Justin Sanders, Jerry Bonnema and Jonathan Cornell. Shane Golobic kicked off the night by setting his fourth Ray Scheidts Electric Fast Time Award of the season, tying Brad Furr for the most in 2014. Nick Green earned the Beer Optics Hard Luck Award after getting upside down lining up for his heat race. Full results are available at www.oceanspeedway.com under the results tab.